Lacteal instrument



UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

C. H. DAVIDSON, OF GHARLESTOXVN, MASSACHUSETTS.

LACTEAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 22,018, dated November 9, 1858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES I-I. DAVIDSON, of the city of Charlestown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Lacteal Instrument; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists in constructing the article known and worn as a breast shell,7 or providing a breast shell proper, with a transfer pipe or tube forming an integral part of said shell, when said tube is situated so that by turning or partly rotating the shell, as it were, the relative position of the tube to the breast may be changed from high to low and, when required, made to occupy the lowest position in the body of the shell, and which tube serves for the attachment of a flexible pipe with an artificial nipple joined to it; whereby, while the breast shell may be worn and used to perform its ordinary functions, of protecting the breast from being chafed by the dress of the wearer, and as a receptacle of any milk which by its occasional overilow wets the dress and is otherwise annoying (and said use is not impaired by such construction) the shell is made capable of speedy conversion into a nursing bottle or breast pump, by the attachment, to the tubular portion of the shell, o-f the flexible tube with nipple, and the shell being turned (say) so that its tube occupies the lowest portion, to avoid, during suction, the drawing in of air; and, in the case of sore nipples or where the breasts are sensitive and the infant bites or butts, when used as a nursing bottle in exposed places, as while traveling, the breast of the mother is more perfectly screened from draft and exposure of person to observation, than is the case by the use of other combined breast pumps and nursing bottles, only, having nipple shield attachments and flexible tubes with artificial nipples oined to them, and which instruments are not suitable or calculated to be worn as practical breast shells and my invention in no way conflicts with mere milking shields or nursing bottles which dispense with the pendent flexible tube, or have the suction orifice unsuitably situated for the use of such devices as breast shells, and disadvantageously situated, without the aid of an interior pipe to avoid the drawing in of air, for the use of them as nursing bottlestheir only fit and legitimate function.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will describe its construction and operation.

Figure l is a general view of the instrument and Fig. 2 a section of the same. Fig. 3 illustrates a modification of the manner of attaching the flexible pipe.

The breast shell (A) is commonly made of glass of about the size and form shown in the drawing. The neck (c) seen in Figs. l and 2 is formed with the breast shell for the purpose of facilitating the attachment of the flexible tube (i) to (A), for when (i) is stretched over the neck (c) it adheres thereto suiiiciently for all practical purposes.

The artificial nipple (o) is connected with the flexible tube by the reducing socket (a), I prefer this arrangement to making the tube and nipple (0) in one piece on account of the facility afforded for cleansing. The easy dismemberment of the instrument afforded by its elastic parts is an important desideratum in any lacteal instrument because of the facility thus obtained for cleansing.

The aperture to which the pipe is applied should be so situated in the breast shell that it will discharge all the milk therefrom.

When the instrument is applied to the breast for the use of the infant in nursing it should have the pipe at the lowest point to avoid the introduction of air into the stomach of the child; the same position of the pipe should be kept when the milk is supplied in (A) from other sources than from the breast, that is when the instrument is used for a nursing bottle.

The ease and convenience with which a mother can, when necessary, draw her own breast, thus using the instrument as a breast pump, is obvious.

I claim- Constructing the article known and worn as a breast shell, and made of any size,

form7 or material suitable for the performance of the Well known functions Or uses proper of such a device, With a transfer pipe, branch, Or tube forming an integral part of 5 the shell; When said tube is arranged as described and serves for the ready and advantageous attachment of a flexible pipe Ons. H. DAVIDSON.

Vitnesses:

J. B. CROSBY, GORDON MOKAY. 

